


A Puzzling History

by ShadowCrusade



Series: All Hallows Karma [18]
Category: RWBY
Genre: .....for the most part anyways, Fluff and Humor, M/M, Well - Freeform, and we got more qrow and ruby bonding time, its fine tho, no beta i die on this hill like the people that were lowkey killed in the history of this oneshot, slight murder of fictional historical figures, the history nerd in me may or may not have popped out, they aren't fine but like meh its not anything too awful, we got clover being the history nerd that I write him to be, yall
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-07
Updated: 2020-12-07
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:13:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27925075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowCrusade/pseuds/ShadowCrusade
Summary: Day 18: PuzzlesWhat was supposed to be a nice activity for Qrow and Ruby to enjoy together ended up turning into a history. Although, with Clover as the teacher, who was Qrow to complain about it?
Relationships: Qrow Branwen/Clover Ebi
Series: All Hallows Karma [18]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1950640
Comments: 8
Kudos: 27





	A Puzzling History

**Author's Note:**

> Can I get this prompt series done before Christmas? Lmao who knows. Defintely writing a Christmas oneshot tho so I don't miss out on the holiday cheers. 
> 
> Anyways here we are at 8k word oneshot because once again, god forbid should I have any chill when it comes to these dorks. 
> 
> Hope yall enjoy!!!
> 
> The italics is Clover's storytelling voice :)

“Ruby, what is the rule about puzzles?” Qrow asked his niece. 

“To not get any new ones until we finish the old ones.” His niece started with a remorseful tone. 

“Care to explain what I’m looking at then?” 

Ruby smiled sheepishly. She scratched the side of her head before she laughed nervously. “So, there was a sale at the store...”

“Ruby...”

“And they were giving away the puzzles that have been sitting on the shelf for over a year...”

“Rubes.” 

“So, I said I would take them home since we enjoy doing puzzles!” Ruby stated, a hopeful grin on her face. 

“First of all, no one in this house genuinely enjoys the puzzles.” That was a lie. “Secondly, Ruby, we have five puzzles in the closet already that we haven’t started.” Qrow informed his niece before he looked to the small pile next to her legs. “We have to finish those before we even start on the six new puzzles you bought today.” 

“Actually, there’s seven.” 

“Kid, you’re not helping your case here.” 

“Please Uncle Qrow!” His niece whined. “There’s a puzzle in here that looks like Zwei!” Ruby held up the puzzle in question. “Look at how cute it is! Think about how adorable it would look in my room once we hung it up!” Qrow rolled his eyes. His niece already had a vast collection of the previous puzzles she had collected and pieced together. All of them glued to poster boards and secured to her walls. It wouldn’t be long before her collection would start to seep out into the rest of the house. 

He decided to compromise. “If we’re gonna do more puzzles, then we have to start with the ones in the closet alright?” His niece nodded excitedly. “And I get to pick the puzzle.”

“Deal!” 

* * *

“Are you two planning on working on that for the rest of the night?” Tai asked from the sink. The family had finished dinner not too long ago and it was Tai’s turn to wash the dishes. Since then, Qrow and Ruby had been diligently working on the puzzle. 

“We’re really determined, dad.” Ruby said without looking up at her father. 

“Both of you are weird.” The blond muttered as he resumed washing dishes. “And Qrow why did you have to pick a puzzle with a thousand pieces in it?”

“It was the first one I grabbed.” He answered as he connected another corner piece. The two of them would have been better off doing a five hundred piece puzzle as opposed to the one they had in front of them. Qrow had only briefly glanced at the cover of the puzzle when he had grabbed it. Once he realised how many pieces there were, he regretted his choice. 

The puzzle seemed to be set in the desert of Vacuo. Some sort of kingly figure sat on his horse with the beginnings of an army behind him. While there was also an oasis in the background, most of the puzzle was the same desert color. Which meant it was harder to put the puzzle together since it all looked mostly the same. It would probably take him and Ruby the next few days to complete this particular puzzle. And that’s if they don’t decide to pull an all nighter for this puzzle as they’ve done in the past. 

“So, what’s the puzzle you guys are working on?” Yang asked, drink in hand as she plopped down next to her sister. Her long blonde hair wet from the quick shower she had taken. Qrow was amazed that her was even as dry as it was. Yang had inherited Tai’s thick hair trait and it was wonder that Yang’s hair didn’t murder people a simple swing of her hair. 

“Some king in the desert.” Qrow answered absentmindedly as he found a couple of pieces that fit together. “Wasn’t paying attention to what I grabbed.”

“Clearly.” Yang took a sip from her drink. “So, how long do you think it’ll take you guys to finish this one?”

“Depending on how far we get tonight, probably a couple of days.” Qrow answered. “Although, with the desert scenery, I am not holding out hope that we get this done tonight.” 

“King Rana the Savior.” Tai muttered. Qrow gave him a questioning look. The man handed the cover of the puzzle box to him. “The puzzle box said it’s a depiction of him.” 

“I have no idea who this is.” Qrow deadpanned. 

“It’s history from Vacuo, I don’t think we’re supposed to know.” Ruby said. She cheered to herself as she got another pair of pieces to work together.

“I thought you were talking about the DJ Rana.” Yang muttered as Tai laughed. “I was like, that is definitely not the DJ.” 

“Yeah same!” Ruby agreed with her sister. “Who’s gonna know about King Rana off the top of their head?”

“A nerd probably.” Qrow muttered. 

“So, does that mean Clover would know?” Yang said as Qrow gaped at her. “It’s a valid question!”

“Clover is not a nerd.” He said calmly as he managed to piece together more of the corner of the puzzle he was working on. His concentration only slightly broke at the mention of Clover.

“Uncle Qrow, he’s got the nerd vibe.” Ruby told him, her attention now focused on her uncle. “You have to admit that.”

“No, he’s definitely got jock vibes.” Tai argued as the girls looked at their father with disappointment. “I mean, come on. Qrow, you’ve seen his arms. There’s no way that that man isn’t a jock.” Qrow hummed in agreement as he handed Ruby a couple of pieces that would help in her corner of the puzzle. 

“No, he's definitely a himbo.” Yang declared as all of them burst out in laughter. 

“R.I.P. my boyfriend I guess.” Qrow muttered under his breath as he connected more pieces on the corner he was fixated on. He connected a few more pieces before he noticed the silence. He met the gaze of three people as they wore the same amused expressions. “What?”

“So, since when are you and Clover official?” Taiyang asked. “Last I knew, you two were just being sappy together.”

“Um...”

“So, how long have you guys been official?” Yang continued the line of questioning. “Like since the corn maze or before that?” 

“Well...”

“Come on Uncle Qrow! Spill the details!” Ruby begged as she was no longer focused on the puzzle in front of her. The light in her silver eyes almost shining. 

“I... well...we haven’t actually talked about it.” Qrow answered quietly as the silence reclaimed the space. 

“So, you guys haven’t, like, officially asked each other out yet?” Yang asked, a bewildered look on her face. Qrow shook his head. “Uncle Qrow, why?!” 

“We haven’t had that conversation yet!”

“How could you not have that conversation?” Tai asked. “You two are together a lot these days.” 

“Okay, yeah, but we’re also surrounded by you guys quite a bit. Kind of hard to have a serious conversation when everyone and their pet is breathing down your neck.” At the mention of the word pet, Zwei had perked his head up from his spot on the couch next to Tai. The blue eyed man scratched the dog’s ear while he looked down on his phone.

“Well why don’t you invite him over right now?” Ruby asked. She seemed to somewhat regained her focus back on the puzzle as she connected a couple more pieces.

“Kid, what?”

“Invite Clover over for dessert or puzzle night. Or both.” 

“Ruby, the point of this conversation is that it’s supposed to happen away from you guys. Not with you guys there.” Qrow sighed. “I want that conversation between us. And definitely not with you brats around.”

Yang lightly punched his shoulder. “Okay, but you are going to ask him out before you go Full Branwen on him, right?” Yang asked, the wink she gave only confirmed the innuendo implied. 

“I am not going to give you that information.” Qrow told his niece. 

“But, you are going to ask Clover out right?” Ruby persisted. “He seems nice. Marrow really looks up to him and Harriet likes him. And she doesn’t like anyone.” Qrow thought about the two younger people in Clover’s friend group. They seemed to have integrated with Ruby and the rest of the kids really well. Marrow practically being adopted by all of them while Harriet seemed to warm up to them. 

Clover was nice. And Qrow liked him a lot.

Qrow sighed. “Again, that’ll be a conversation for us to have.”

“Okay, Mr. Qrow ‘I’m already referring to Clover as my boyfriend and have a picture of us together saved as my lockscreen, but we don’t know if we’re dating yet’ Branwen.” Yang mocked as Ruby attempted to smother the laugh that escaped her. 

“I wasn’t aware that my middle name had gotten so long.” Qrow shoved his blond haired niece playfully as she giggled. “I hate you both.”

“So, did you get all that?” Tai suddenly asked. The three of them all turned to face the blond when they noticed the phone. He had it held close to the three of them, the mouthpiece of the phone closer to Tai. 

An all too familiar laugh echoed from the phone as Qrow felt his stomach drop. 

“Yeah, yeah. I got all that.” Clover’s voice came through the speaker. 

“Perfect.” Tai said. “By the way, you can still come over to our house if you aren’t busy at the moment.” 

“It’s kind of late.” Clover pointed out. “If I come over, I’ll have to stay the night.”

“I’m sure Qrow can behave for one night.” Tai raised his eyebrow at the dark haired man. The look on his face was serious when it came to the implications.

Qrow scoffed. “It’s not me you should worry about.” 

“I heard that!” Clover yelled through the speaker. 

“Yeah? And? Are you going to tell me I’m wrong?” 

A pause. “...so like just walk up to your front door?” Clover asked. Everyone in the room had started to laugh. Taiyang confirmed the plans that were made and the evening returned to normal for the most part. 

A little over an hour later, Qrow had completed a good portion of his corner while Ruby had completed most of her corner that she had worked on. Yang and Tai had decided to help by putting together stray pieces as they both looked towards the box for an idea of what they were constructing. Overall, they were having a peaceful time in the front of the house.

Then, the doorbell rang. 

“Door’s open!” Tai called out. A couple of seconds later, Clover had walked in through the front door. His signature sleeveless hoodie was the first thing Qrow saw and he immediately rolled his eyes.  _ Does he ever wear sleeves? _ Zwei happily greeted the newcomer as Clover shut the door behind him. “Glad you made it in one piece.” 

“Yeah, I am too. Elm was about to rip my arm off, so I’m grateful for the escape.” The brunette rubbed lightly at the muscle on the back of his shoulder.

“Wait, why?” Qrow asked. 

“Elm, plays rough when it comes ‘Down By the Banks’” Clover stated as he continued to rub his shoulder. Qrow picked up on the faint grimace the other man had when he dug in a little too deep into the muscle. “We thought for sure that this time she dislocated something in Marrow.” 

“Were you in the middle of taking care of Marrow when you left?” Ruby asked. “He wasn’t answering my messages, so I guess this explains why.”

Clover chuckled nervously. “I may or may not have snuck out the window of the apartment I’m in to get away.”

“You ran away?!” Yang and Qrow yelled. 

“It was that or definitely lose an arm. I chose the path with the least amount of pain.” Clover pointed out. He sat on the couch behind Qrow as he told them his escape effort and how he was sure that Vine had noticed, but perhaps opted not to say anything. 

“Let’s hope he ain’t a snitch.” Tai said as he brought a plate full of cookies to the coffee table. 

The group continued with their conversations about Clover’s day with his friends as they ate their cookies. Qrow noticed that the brunette would move his arm around quite a bit. The same arm that he claimed that Elm had almost torn off. He filed away that tidbit of information for later as he did try to refocus back onto the puzzle. Although with Clover here, that was a lot harder to do since all he wanted to do was talk and stare at Clover. 

Maybe, even sneak in a kiss or two. 

“Are you guys forming King Rana?” Clover asked with interest. Qrow could see the crumbs of the cookie he was eating on his lips. It was taking every ounce of self control to not kiss Clover. He really didn’t need to give his nieces anymore ammo than they already had. 

Qrow redirected his brain to the question asked. “You know this guy?”

Clover nodded. “That’s one of the more famous paintings about the King. It was painted by the famous artist Craven Crest several centuries ago. Since Rana was king before the rapid decline of the oasis, there aren’t many pieces of art that show what the oasis actually looked like. Crest himself took a guess with this art and several other pieces he did. Hard to say if it’s even remotely close since the oasis that Vacuo used to be dried up about a thousand years ago.” 

“Clover, how do you know that?” Tai asked. Taiyang looked impressed at the knowledge that Clover just seemed to have at his fingertips. 

“I’m a historian. It’s kind of my job to know the weird stuff.”

“I told you he was a nerd!” Yang exclaimed as Clover almost choked on his cookie. “Wait, what kind of history do you know?”

“My expertise is in Ancient History, but I dabble in Art History and Military History as my other two subjects. Everything else it’s more like a vague trivia fact kind of knowledge.” Clover explained. “Although, it seems like Art and Military History are starting to become my area since I do teach about the two subjects frequently at the university.”

“Wait, Clover, you’re a teacher?” Ruby seemed fascinated. “I had no idea. Harriet and Marrow never said anything!” 

“I only teach some of the time. Most of the time, I’m at the museums in between Mantle and Atlas.” He told the young girl as she started to ask more questions about his work. 

Qrow tried to listen. Although, the attempt wasn’t going very well. Since day one that they had met Clover knew what Qrow did for a living, but never the other way around. He didn’t even think to ask about what Clover did to warrant him being able to go on a month-long vacation. He never asked and now he really felt like crap. Here he was thinking that a conversation with the man about their relationship would be the most awkward moment of his life. Instead, now he’s in a crisis about the lack of knowledge he had on Clover himself. 

With Clover being in Patch, he got more of a glimpse into Qrow’s life than anyone else had. However, anything about Clover was mostly hidden away. Qrow couldn’t think of anything relevant about Clover’s family that was said. Did Clover even have siblings? Parents? The more Qrow thought about it, the more he realised he didn’t know much about the brunette’s personal life. 

He glanced up, in the hopes of not making it obvious that he had spaced out. Clover explained to Ruby how his schedule worked in Atlas and at the university. Qrow was about to make a smart comment when he noticed something in Clover’s eyes. If it wasn’t because he was watching the other man with deep interest, he probably wouldn't have noticed it at all. 

Sadness.

He didn’t think he would ever see that particular emotion in Clover at all. He’d seen Clover mostly happy during their times together. He had seen Clover afraid a couple of times, but he’d never seen him sad. Whatever it was that was making the other man feel that way, Qrow wanted to squash it down into nothingness. He didn’t want that emotion to exist in Clover. 

Clover didn’t deserve that. 

Qrow reached up slowly to gently lock hands with Clover. The other man only faintly noticed as Qrow gave a small squeeze. That had caught his attention as the darker haired man simply pressed a small kiss to the back of Clover’s hand. Clover smiled back at him, the sadness in his eyes withered away for the moment. 

“Are you  _ the _ fun teacher?” Yang asked. “Or are you one of the super boring teachers.”

“My students had a segment for me at the end of every semester that they liked to call ‘Abridging the past’.” Clover answered. “They would get pretty amped for it throughout the semester.”

“Why?”

“They would select a topic in history, of course, for me to teach them on the final day before actual finals. It was basically just a presentation from me to them, and it was just for fun. So, the grade that would be taken would be attendance.”

“Did anyone show up?” Ruby asked. 

Clover nodded. “Yeah, all of my students were present for it and also students from other classes. Some of the teachers in the building didn’t appreciate me stealing students from them.” 

“They were just jealous of you.” Tai reassured as Clover chuckled. 

“Well anyways, the point of ‘Abridging the Past’ is that I tell the more weird details about an event that happened in the past. Usually, I have little sets built along with characters that I make with posterboard to just kind of set the scene. I tell the facts, and then my students will make their comments about the event throughout the presentation. It’s like a casual presentation.”

Ruby and Yang seemed fascinated by the idea. Tai had asked him what some of his favorite presentations and Clover had pulled up some pictures on his phone from the previous mini-sets he had created to fit for the lesson. Honestly, it was all so creative and ingenious. Qrow was impressed with the crazy ideas that Clover would have for set ideas. 

He looked down at the unfinished puzzle, when an idea came to mind. “Alright Professor Ebi, teach us.” 

Clover froze mid-sentence. “What?”

Qrow crossed his arms. “You’re a history teacher right? Teach us about King Raymond-”

“Rana.” Clover corrected.

“Rana, or whatever his name is. But, like in the cool final day that you talk about.” Qrow smirked at the surprised look on his unofficial boyfriend’s face. 

“Alright fine. But, just know that this won’t be as good since I didn’t get to make the characters or sets.” 

“I have dolls if you need some.” Yang offered as Clover shook his head. 

“Nah, you guys are just going to have to use a bit of imagination.” He informed them as he sat at the end of the coffee table. “Okay, gather around the puzzle, we’ll be piecing together how King Rana ascended to his throne as the Savior King of Vacuo.”

“That pun was terrible.” Qrow groaned as Tai chuckled. 

“Perfect.” The teacher grinned. “That means we’re off to a fantastic start. Firstly, besides from what I told you, do any of you know anything about Rana?”

Ruby raised her hand. “He’s a DJ that Yang listens to.”

“I meant the King.”

“I know absolutely nothing.” The table laughed. 

“Okay, well.” Clover composed himself. “Rana was the King of Vacuo that is better well known for uniting the separate kingdoms that once existed within Vacuo.”

“Wait like Game of thrones?” Yang asked.

Clover snapped his fingers. “Exactly like that. Rana was the King that united them all and created the trade system that Vacuo still uses to this day.” The girls were both pleased with themselves as they had gotten praise from their temporary teacher. “Funny enough, this story isn’t so much about Rana himself, and more so about the events that led to him being king.” 

“Is there murder?” Qrow asked. 

“Yes, and a lot of it.” 

“I’m excited.”

_ First, there was Idris the Great. He was the founder of the Lagoon Empire. The first King who even dared to create a settlement inside the sacred oasis. Rana was actually a distant relative of his, like a second or third cousin I believe. Although, Idris could care less for him seeing as how he never wanted the poor guy around. The trouble and our tale begins when an old legend tells that one day Idris had a dream that one day Rana would take the throne and with it would change the course of history.  _

“Well, he wasn’t wrong.” Tai muttered as Clover let out a snort before he resumed his dramatic teaching. 

_ However, it didn’t matter what Idris thought since at the moment he was currently at war with Juliana. Queen of the Huntresses. And after she slayed him in battle, on some accounts, she cut his head off and sent back to Idris’ army via catapult along with some very...interesting messages. _

“What were the messages, Lucky Charm?” 

“Very provocative kind of messages.”

“Damn. And I thought I was kinky.”

“Uncle Qrow, I’m trying to learn, quit being weird.” Ruby scolded as she gestured for Clover to continue. Qrow couldn’t help but snort at his younger niece’s command. 

_ Now, Idris had two sons. Cyrus and Ervin. Cyrus was the heir apparent to the throne and was described as an avid, impulsive, and strong headed boy, typical for a boy of his status. And Ervin was described as well...Ervin: Brother of Cyrus. _

“Oof, talk about favoritism.” Yang chuckled as she took another bite out of a cookie. “Imagine your legacy being that you were the brother of the guy that got to be king.”

“Wasn’t that basically the plot of ‘The Lion King’?” Qrow asked as his nieces glared at him. “Are you gonna look at me and tell me that I’m wrong?”

“It’s the fact that we can’t tell you that that we’re glaring at you.” Ruby answered as she refocused her attention back to the impromptu history lesson. 

_ Since Cyrus was the first born, he inherited the throne upon his father’s untimely demise, and very quickly decided to invade Arena. People thought that he was absolutely insane or even stricken with grief over his father’s death that would explain these actions. He was always a reckless guy, but some of the things he did in Arena really took the prize. A prime example being that he had asked to see the Arena’s sacred bull....which he happily stabbed to death.  _

Qrow couldn’t stop the laugh that escaped him if he tried. Neither could anyone else at the table. Taiyang had been midbite with the cookie when Clover dropped that information and now struggled to swallow the rest of the cookie. Ruby and Yang laid on top of each other, their laughter echoed through the house. Qrow himself was face planted into the coffee table laughing so hard that tears streamed down his face. 

“The audacity this one man has.” Qrow managed to get out before he started to laugh. Just trying to picture what Clover had said was more than enough to send him in another fit of laughter. 

“I mean, that’s just rude.” Clover said, disapprovingly. “You ask to see their sacred bull, and then you just stab the poor thing to death.”

“It’s a load of  _ bullshit _ .” Yang punned as Clover was now the one caught in a fit of laughter. The group all laughed for a while longer and soon calmed down enough for Clover to continue his narration of King Rana’s ascension. 

_ Cyrus was also known for his moments of rage and for making rash decisions. The second part being the incredibly famous one out of the two. Another story tells the story of Bahman. Bahman had been a close friend and advisor to the previous king. As the new king came to the throne, it became his duty to guide the new king well and to perhaps prevent another decapitation in the family.  _

_ Regardless, Behman warned Cyrus that his attitude was bound to cause some trouble amongst his men. He wasn’t exactly the most popular guy around in his own kingdom.  _

“Oh! Professor Ebi!” Ruby had her hand raised once again. 

Clover chuckled. “Yes, Ruby?” 

“Why wasn’t he liked by his own people?”

“Well, on top of his reckless attitude, he tended to come off as entitled more than half the time. Which, when you surround yourself with the working class, probably not a good idea to flaunt your privileges and wealth like that.” 

“So, he was a jerk? Big deal. It’s not like he did anything awful....” Qrow muttered as silence filled the room. Qrow made eye contact with the brunette. “Clover...” The other man quickly averted eye contact as the expression on his face became distressed. “Cloves, what did he do?”

“Well,” He began slowly. “There was one story about one of his men telling him that he thought he drank too much.”

“Oh no...” Tai’s voice filled with dread. “I’m sure it didn’t end well for that guy.”

“His response to that was to tell that guy, ‘Oh? I’m too much of a drunk? Well, if that’s true then I shouldn’t be able to accurately shoot a bow.’ So, he called the man’s son in and asked him to stand against a wall and then said, ‘If it’s true that I drink too much, then I’ll miss this shot.’ And then he shot the man’s son right through the heart.”

Ruby gasped. “He shot the man’s son?!” Clover nodded. “This guy was terrible!” 

“I was just imagining that he was like ordering his men to do stupid dances in front of him for the sake of entertainment, but wow that’s way worse.” Qrow admitted. 

“So, like, at what point does Rana come and take the throne and become savior?” Tai asked. “Cuz I would really like to fast forward to the ending.” 

“Wouldn’t we all?” Yang muttered as their attention was refocused back onto Clover. 

_ Behman warned the king that by treating his subjects cruelly, it would not inspire his people to have any loyalty to him. Cyrus didn’t take the news well about not being the most popular kid in the kingdom. He told Behman that he didn’t need some old man telling him how to make friends. He pulled out a bow and arrow and Behman proceeded to run for his life.  _

“Does this guy just have a pocket filled with bows and arrows?!” Yang asked. “Why does he always have one handy?”

Clover simply shrugged. “Princes have the world at their fingertips.” 

_ Cyrus had ordered his men to chase after the fleeing advisor and to kill him on sight. And his men gave chase. However, the old man had been in service to the royal family for years., and the men knew that within the following days, Cyrus would come to regret his actions. So, they hid him away. And sure enough, when the King got all depressed about his oldest friend being dead in a ditch somewhere, the men appeared with Behman at their side as a way to cheer up the King. The King rejoiced! He had his oldest friend and advisor by his side and two walked away from the situation as if it had never happened.  _

_ The King then had those men executed for disobeying his orders. _

“Gods, no one in this kingdom can catch a break.” Tai wheezed. 

“He literally killed the messenger.” Qrow shook his head in disbelief. This was not at all the way he had expected this history lesson to go, but he was enjoying it. 

“You’ve brought me such joy,” Yang said, her voice slightly huskier as she tried to impersonate Clover’s Cyrus voice. “Where’s my bow and arrow?” Clover face planted into the table as he started to laugh. Qrow gave his niece a high five as the group laughed together at Yang’s impersonation. 

Clover caught his breath. “Anyways...” 

_ While on this trip away from home, Cyrus decided to bring his brother Ervin along with him. No one really knew why he brought his brother along since the two weren’t exactly known for their brotherly love. One historian speculates that it was because Cyrus was paranoid about losing his throne to his brother and wanted to keep a closer eye on him. Others speculate that he was just kind of hoping to ditch his brother in the desert somewhere.  _

“Rude.” The two sisters sounded off. 

_ Since both of the brothers were on their....family road trip? They left a magian-no Ruby it’s not a wizard- in charge of the kingdom while they were off bull hunting or something.  _

“Wait, hold on.” Yang interrupted. “So, Cyrus is worried about Ervin taking the throne and in order to prevent that, they put a stranger on the throne?”

“A magian is typically someone that the royal family trusted deeply.” Clover clarified as Yang nodded in understanding.

_ Meanwhile, back in Arena. Cyrus had the strangest dreams. He dreamed that his brother Ervin had taken the throne from him and threw a kickass party in which he wasn’t invited to. In his dreams, his subjects referred to him as ‘The Clown King’ or ‘The Forgotten King’. Driven crazy by these dreams and he already constant paranoia, Cyrus ordered Ervin to return home at once since he was getting annoyed at seeing the guy all the time. It was almost after he gave that order and Ervin had left, that he seemed to remember why he brought his brother along with him in the first place.  _

_ So, he called upon one of his best men, Firuz, to aid in this predicament. _

_ He ordered Firuz to track down Ervin and to secretly assassinate his brother. Thus, getting rid of any paranoia that Cyrus would have in regards to Ervin and his weird throne dreams. And Firuz followed up with that real quick. He killed Ervin and returned quickly to his King to give him the news about his super secretly murdered brother.  _

“Damn, that’s fucked up.” Qrow took a sip of his drink. “Any other curveballs?” Clover thought for a moment, and then started to laugh. The dark haired man gave a confused look as Clover steadied himself. 

“I don’t quite remember where this happens timeline wise, I assume it’s after this whole murder thing. But, Firuz, is the guy whose son was killed by...” Clover couldn’t even finish the sentence as the rest of the table started to laugh at the realisation. 

“Imagine being loyal to your king and then that same guy that trusted you with a murder misson kills your kid.” Yang snorted.

“It’s called karma.” Ruby spoke happily.

_ So, time passes right? And eventually Cyrus gets some more news, and very shocking news considering everything that just went down. Apparently, while gone in Arena, Cyrus’ throne had been taken...by Ervin?! _

“What?!” The whole group yelled. 

_ Cyrus was confused, and well you would be too if you find out your dead brother somehow took your throne. How could a dead guy take his throne? Jumping into action, as Cyrus does, he quickly mounted his horse to ride into battle to save his kingdom! Unfortunately, it seemed like he was a little too excited to skedaddle on home because when he mounted his horse, one of his arrows that was loose in his weapons bag ended up piercing his leg in a critical spot and then he died.  _

_ But, before doing so, he instructed the nobleman that accompanied him to return home and to reclaim his throne from Ervin. By whatever means necessary.  _

“It doesn’t seem like it’s that hard to claim this kingdom.” Ruby pointed out as the others agreed. 

Yang nudged her. “I bet zombie Ervin just showed up and was like, ‘Hey, so like, I know I’m falling apart here, but my bro said it was my turn to be king,’ Like it just seems so easy!” Yang threw her hands up in the air with the craziness of the story. “And where is Rana throughout all of this?” 

“He’s chillin.” Clover replied as Taiyang handed him a water bottle. 

_ Upon their return to Lagoon, the noblemen did indeed find that there was a new king on the throne. And this was only the start to their problems. It appears that a vast majority of the citizens believed that the man on the throne was in fact Prince Ervin. And with Cyrus dead in the desert and the real Ervin secretly murdered, no one could contest the status of this imposter.  _

_ Now, Firuz could have cleared this all up except murdering a member of the royal family wasn’t really something you bragged about to your friends. So, he was keeping his mouth shut since the last thing he needed was to draw attention to himself since that would lead an untimely death.  _

“I like how he’s worried about an untimely death when he literally murdered a Prince of Vacuo.” Tai rolled his eyes. “Also, there has got to be some tension between fake Ervin and Fir. Like, one guy knows he’s a fake and the other one knows he murdered the real one. There’s no way that there isn’t some underlying tension between the two of them.”

“Maybe there is...maybe there isn’t” Clover shrugged. 

“Plot twist: they all die making a cup of coffee.” Qrow interjected as his nieces chuckled. “This family is so easy to kill they make the teenagers in horror movies look like pros at escaping the killer.” 

_ The fake Ervin protected his identity by secluding himself whenever possible. And, he only ever spoke to the noblemen that had never really met the real Ervin before, making conversations with Ervin’s previous affiliations difficult. It proved successful for the current king as he strided through council meetings and other royal duties with almost no problem. But, for those trying to reclaim the throne for the late king Cyrus, the odds weren't exactly in their favor.  _

_ Now, we enter Mirza, Prince Ervin’s friend since childhood. He had been away on business and had come back to the news that Ervin had been made king. Now, he wasn’t exactly how that was possible since Cyrus was supposed to be king. Regardless, he tried to congratulate his friend and to honor him as his king, but kept getting denied the rights to see his best friend. He wasn’t sure why his lifelong friend decided not to talk with him anymore and he began to sneak around the palace to find some clues.  _

_ Upon hearing that Ervin tended to only speak with a select few at any time, Mirza began to suspect that perhaps this king was not his best friend after all. I guess years of knowing each other gave him the vibes that something wasn’t right. He managed to hire some kids that were willing to spy for him and report anything they see with the king.  _

“Oh yeah, that’s not creepy at all.” Yang rolled her eyes. “Old rich guy hanging around some kids and being real sus? How was he not killed for being that sus?”

“Probably because all the kids had dirt on everyone.” Qrow told her. “Kids man, they be real sneaky.”

_ Mirza recalled to the noblemen that were shunned by Ervin that there once was a man that the late King Idris-R.I.P.- had ordered that his ears be cut off. For being a bit of a gossiper and meddling in the personal life of other noblemen, causing discord wherever he went. The children had informed Mirza that King Ervin was never seen without some sort of headwear that coincidentally or conveniently hid his lack of ears as well.  _

_ This was the break they were looking for.  _

_ They devised a plan. One of the kids that Mirza had hired would sneak into the King’s bedchambers at night, and would confirm for them that their theory was correct. So, using their resources and connections into the palace, the noblemen assisted in helping the child acquire their information. They waited outside the palace walls and waited for the return of their small friend, in hopefully, one piece.  _

_ The kid had made it past the guards with ease and managed to slip into the bedchambers. There, it was confirmed what Mirza had started to theorize.  _

_ The King had no ears.  _

“Holy shit.” Yang and Qrow both whispered. 

_ With that, Mirza now could confirm the identity of the impostor on the throne. It was not, in fact, Ervin, brother of Cyrus that sat on the throne. But, it was, in fact, a man also named....Ervin. _

“Are you fucking kidding me right now?” Qrow face palmed as he tried to process what was told to him. 

Clover shook his head. “It’s a bit of a history twist...a-”

“Lucky Charm, if you finish that pun, I will throw you out this window.” Qrow pointed to the window behind him. Clover muttered something under his breath Qrow pretended not to hear. 

“Wait, so maybe the poor guy was just confused.” Ruby's eyes lit up as she went on to explain. “Like, he could have just come in and was like, ‘oh hi I’m Ervin’ and everyone else just assumed that he meant like the prince. So, maybe that’s how it all happened. It was just a giant misunderstanding.” Ruby said. 

“Was it though?” Yang turned to stare at the storyteller as he rubbed the back of his neck.

“Well...”

_ It turns out that way back when Ervin and Cyrus first set off towards Arena, and told the magian to watch the kingdom. The magian lowkey kinda had some other plans. You see, the magian had a brother that was also coincidentally named Ervin. I guess it was a popular name back in the day since the odds at that happening were almost next to nothing. Also, the two Ervin’s somehow through a weird twist looked very similar to one another. Hence, why none of the citizens never really questioned it.  _

_ Now, with the real Ervin and Cyrus causing problems over in Arena, the magian decided to put his brother Ervin on the throne. To save the kingdom from total collapse and to prevent retribution from their enemies. Which was actually perfect timing since at that point, the real Ervin kind of got merc’d by his bros top man.  _

_ Upon piecing the plot together, Mirza and the other noblemen assembled together to overthrow the current king. And, of course, one of these noblemen happened to be... _

“Please say Rana. For the love of gods, please say Rana!” Taiyang begged as the historian could only laugh at the anticipation. 

_ Rana! Our man, and favorite king according to Tai at least. He arrived just in time after he managed to connect the dots together from his home.  _

“Wait, so, Rana managed to solve this whole thing while sitting in his living room abroad somewhere?” Ruby asked. 

Clover nodded. “According to most versions of the story, Rana just figured it out.”

“The pace at which information traveled back then though.” Qrow pointed out. 

“I can’t remember the time frame for this story, been awhile since I read up on my Vacuo history, but I assume this takes place over the course of like thirty years.” 

_ So, the noblemen concocted the plan that would expose the impostor traitor to the rest of the kingdom. Firuz was chosen to announce in a formal speech that the king was an impostor and that the real Ervin was still alive somewhere. Obviously, the other noblemen weren’t aware Firuz had killed the other man, but oh well. _

“I bet that’ll be an event when the truth comes out.” Qrow mumbled as he took another bite out of his cookie. 

“It was to  _ die _ for.” Tai jested as Qrow and the girls groaned.

_ Meanwhile, the magian and his impostor brother were getting nervous about their status since rumors of their deceit were starting to spread. Firuz made his declaration at the top of one of the palace’s walls. He ran to the top of a building and declared to the citizens what the noblemen had told him to say. Maybe it was the guilt from the crime he committed or maybe he felt cornered from the enormous pressure that was about to go down. Regardless, Firuz ended up confessing the truth about Prince Ervin and how he had known the entire time about the fake since he kind of murdered the real Ervin. With his conscience clear and the citizens in uproar about being lied to-for probably the millionth time- the noblemen set off on their end of the adventure.  _

“So, what happened to Fir?” Yang inquired.

“Oh he was executed for killing the prince and his grave was cursed by some of the local witches.” Clover revealed. The way he had said reminded Qrow of the way that someone would order their food. 

Blunt, but excited for the result.

_ At first, the noblemen met no resistance when it came to entering the palace. They were noblemen, after all, what could they possibly do? Eventually, they found themselves in the throne room, where the king and his magian brother were located. The battle was over fairly quickly as the noblemen moved against the two scheming brothers. With the brothers dead and the throne reclaimed, the noblemen had succeeded in carrying out the wishes of the late King Cyrus. The citizens rejoiced in the victory shared by the noblemen and all seemed well.  _

_ But, now came the harder question.  _

_ First, the noblemen wanted to know how they would govern their country. It was quickly decided, that a monarchy should stay as it’s governing position. Go figure. As for who takes the throne was the bigger thing to discuss. All of the noblemen had some sort of claim to the throne and they needed to figure out who would be the proper ruler to the throne. _

“Any guesses as to how they decided who would be King of Vacuo?” Clover asked. 

“Rock, paper, scissors?” Tai suggested.

“Nope.”

“Draw names from a hat?” Ruby chimed in. 

“Also, no.”

“Who had the best aim with a bow and arrow?” Yang joked in as they all laughed. 

“That’s a negative.”

“Who was the best looking of them all.” Qrow declared.

Clover looked at him. “Who judges that?”

“Me?” Qrow suggested as the group laughed once more. 

“You guys wanna know?” Clover asked them as they nodded. “Okay, hold out your hands.” They did. “Okay, put your left hand underneath the right hand of the person next to you. And then put your right hand on top of the person’s left hand.” They followed the instructions as Clover’s right hand ended up on top of Qrow’s and his left was underneath Ruby’s. 

“Clover, what-”

“Aaaand, down by the banks,” Clover lightly slapped his right hand over Ruby’s as she began to sing the song along with Clover. Yang burst out in a fit of laughter as she carried the game on while she attempted to sing along. 

“Leap of the lily pad and KERPLOP!” They said in unison as Taiyang was the first to be eliminated. 

“And again!” Ruby shouted as they continued the game. Yang was eliminated next, then Ruby, leaving Qrow and Clover for the final round. 

“You ready?”

“No, Clover. This is not at all how I thought this would go.” The two sat across from each other now as they locked their hands together. A game of arm strength and timing. 

Ruby sucked in a breath. “Aaaaaand, Down by the banks of the Hanky Panky, Where the bull frogs jump from bank to banky, With a hip, hop, hippity, hop, Leap off a lily pad and go KERPLOP!” They all sang as the two shoved their respective arms at each other in hopes to win. Qrow supposed that the muscles Clover had weren’t just for show. Clover overpowered him and won fairly quickly.

“There is no way that’s how it was determined on who the King of Vacuo would be!” Qrow declared. 

Clover was laughing. “It was though. The song Down by the Banks was actually created in Vacuo. Granted, it may have lost some things in the translation of the original language of Vacuo, but it was a popular game in Vacuo during those times. Especially with the upper class.”

“So, they didn’t determine the king by virtue or skill, or their qualifications? They did it literally by game?” Tai questioned. Clover nodded. “That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard of.”

“It’s how it happened though.” Clover told him as he took his original spot back. “And that’s how Rana became King of Vacuo.”

“He should be called the Banksy King.” Yang stated. “So, that he could always  _ bank  _ on winning his games.” Everyone at the table groaned, including Clover. “I’m hilarious! And that was a good one!”

“No, Yang, it wasn’t.” Tai disagreed as the two of them began to bicker about good jokes. 

“So, what did you think?” Clover asked. 

“About the game or the lesson?” 

“Meh, both.”

“I was thrown off by the game, but who knew that history isn’t that boring.” Qrow told him as Clover rolled his eyes. 

“Everyone Qrow, literally everyone knows that.”

“Well, now I do.” Qrow said triumphantly as he refocused his attention back on the puzzle. There would still be some work to be done on the thing before they were finished. Although, he glanced at the time. “Well, shit, I didn’t think it was that late.” Qrow said aloud as everyone glanced at the clock on the opposite wall. 

“Oh wow, it’s almost midnight.” Ruby seemed almost amazed at how quickly time went. “I never even realised...”

“And I guess that means that the ferry back to Vale is closed.” Clover didn’t seem all that disappointed when he spoke those words. 

“Guess that means you’re sticking around.” Qrow winked at the before he started to put the stray puzzle pieces back in the box. 

“Guess so.” Clover whispered as he started to help Qrow with the puzzle pieces. 

“Alright, ground rules.” Tai came in between them, physically. “I like you Clover, and I sometimes like Qrow-”

“Rude.”

“But,” Tai ignored him. “I would rather not be awake late at night if you and Qrow can’t keep things down.” Clover was immediately flushed with embarrassment. “Can you at least do me that favor?” Clover could only nod as the man hid behind his hands as the girls simply laughed and started to head off to bed. Clover helped to finish securing the puzzle before they realised they were on their own. 

“Don’t mind Tai, he’s just messin with you.” Qrow assured the other man. 

“Is he though?”

“The sense of humor in this house is a bit weird in case you hadn’t noticed. That’s his way of saying that he doesn’t mind that you’re around.” Qrow clarified for the man. “Although I did want to talk about something before we head to bed.”

“Sure, what’s up?”

“Well,” Qrow paused to think of his next words. “It’s about us.” 

“Ah. I was wondering when would be a good time to bring that up.” Clover gave him a small smile. Qrow opened the front door and gestured for Clover to follow. The two stepped outside, the cool October chill caused them to shiver a bit. Qrow led them away from the house. He knew better than to have this conversation in the house. Taiyang and the girls would no doubt try their hardest to listen to the conversation. 

“Away from prying eyes?” Clover asked, seemingly knowing the situation. Qrow nodded. “Yeah, I thought I saw Ruby creeping around one of the corners of the hallway.” 

“Gossipers. All of them.” Qrow muttered as Clover chuckled lightly next to him. 

Soon, a clearing came into view as they walked by the tall trees. Qrow noticed the fallen tree and motioned Clover over to it. The two men hopped on the trunk of the tree, the brittle wood creaked lowly with the new weight that was added to it. The pair scooted closer together as the fallen trunk adjusted to the two men. Neither of them had said anything to each other yet, both of them enjoying the view of the cloudless night sky. The stars shining brightly down. 

“So,” Qrow began slowly.

“So...” Clover mimicked. 

“Us?”

“Us.” 

“Where do you wanna start?” Qrow asked. 

“Wherever you’d like to.” 

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired from the story of Darius the great
> 
> Absolutely recommend Ruining History for that episode because it's hilarious.


End file.
